Arnold's Surprise
by qwerty-kitties
Summary: ONESHOT - Arnold returns home from school one day to discover some very special people waiting for him. DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!


Hey, all! Here's a little something I wrote a while back, and it's still kinda cute as I read it over. It's nothing much, just a little one shot that popped in my head at some point. Oh, and if you think you've read it before (depending on how far back your Arnold fandom goes), you may have. I used to go by the SN 'Carrot Top'.

Disclaimer: All Hey, Arnold characters belong to Craig Bartlett and Nickelodeon.

* * *

Just another school day. Another day of math, spelling, history, and recess. Arnold didn't think anything of this day, it was just like any other. Helga bugged him as usual, Gerald complained about his siblings, as usual, and he remained calm throughout.

The last bell rang, and the kids headed home. Helga went with Arnold, because they were supposed to start a science project together. They chatted (fought, actually) about what their project would be about as they climbed the steps, and Arnold opened the door to his home.

"Grandpa?" he called as they walked in. "I'm home! Grandma?"

Arnold closed the door and started toward the kitchen. Grandpa walked out of the living room, and met his grandson in the hallway.

"Arnold," he said quietly. "I'd like you to come into the living room." Arnold looked at the man, a worried look passing over his young face.

"What is it, Grandpa?" the boy asked as the older man led him into the room. He had never heard his grandfather sound so serious before. "Is something wrong? Did something happen? Where's Grandma?"

Grandpa led Arnold into the living room, and the boy smiled once his eyes happened upon his grandmother, sitting on the couch smiling. He looked at her curiously, wondering why she was smiling like that.

"Grandpa, what's going on?" the boy asked, turning to the older man. "What did you want me to see—"

Arnold's thought stopped once he saw who else was in the living room waiting for him. His jaw dropped. His eyes widened. His heart stopped for a split second, then resumed beating at twice the normal rate.

Helga saw the look on her beloved's face and ran forward to see what had shocked the blonde so much.

"Arnold?" she called worriedly. "Arnold, are you okay? What's the matt—" Her eyes grew as wide as those of her true love when she saw the couple in the living room.

Helga and Grandpa moved behind Arnold, who looked like he was about to sway on his feet. He continued to stare, tears forming at the corners of his eyes. He was shaking, not able to believe what he was actually seeing as real.

"Are you real?" he whispered to the couple. "Are you really here, or am I dreaming again?" They stood, tears coming to their own eyes.

"Oh, Arnold," the woman whispered, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "Oh, my little boy. My sweet little boy."

She came forward slowly, not wanting to scare her son any more than he already was. The man stood back, struggling with his own tears. He wanted to take his son into his arms and hug him until dark, but he knew Arnold needed a little time to adjust them first.

"Mom?" the boy whispered as the first of his tears fell. "Is it really you?" The woman smiled, tears falling. She nodded.

"It's really me, honey," she answered. "I'm really here." As if to prove it, she reached forward and laid a gentle hand on his cheek. Arnold drew in a shuddery breath at her touch, his eyes closing. His hand covered hers, holding her close.

"Mom . . ." he whispered as he held her hand to him. He smelled her lotion and his tears came faster. She gently wiped them away.

"I'm here, sweetie," she said, slowly drawing him closer. "I'm here with you and I'm not going anywhere."

With a loud sob, Arnold threw his arms around his mother's neck, hugging her tightly. He had dreamed of this moment for as long as he could remember. His mother wrapped her arms around him and hugged him back tightly. Her tears wet his hair as he nuzzled against her neck.

"My little boy," she said into his hair. "My little darling."

She gently lifted the weeping boy into her arms, and carried him to the couch. He set him in her lap, and gently rocked him as he cried.

The man moved to his wife's side, and put a hand on his son's shoulder. Arnold pulled slightly away from his mother, and looked at the man.

"It's okay, son," the woman's husband said softly. "We're back, and we're not going anywhere." Arnold smiled weakly and reached toward the man. His father. The older blonde smiled and took the boy into his arms, hugging Arnold as tightly as his mother had.

"Welcome home Dad," the boy whispered. He hugged his father tighter, loving the closeness. Loving his parents. His mother reached over and took her two men into her arms, hugging her family close.

Grandpa and Grandma looked on, wide smiles on their faces. Hey had missed their son and daughter-in-law, and were glad to see how happy their grandson was.

Helga, on the other hand, was looking on sadly. She was very happy that her true love's parents were back, thereby making her true love happier than he's ever been. But she was a little sad that these two people still loved their son so much after not seeing him for so long.

_They haven't seen him for over 7 years, _she thought sadly, _and they still love him like they did the day they left. MY parents, on the other hand, never went ANYWHERE and they don't care for me one teeny tiny bit. Arnold is so lucky._

She stood where she was a moment longer, watching the touching scene before her. Grandpa and Grandma decided that enough was enough and walked over to the happy family. They threw their arms around their kin, joining in on the family hug. An icy sliver worked its way into Helga's heart. She cleared her throat.

"Listen Arnold," she said, making the family turn to her. "I'm gonna just take off. You obviously have some things to catch up on, and I don't wanna be in the way." She was slowly backing toward the door, struggling to hold back the tears that threatened. "I'll see you later, Arnold." She turned and moved toward the door as quickly as she could without running.

Arnold exchanged a glance with his parents, and dropped from their laps. He really didn't want to leave them; he had missed them for so long. But Helga was upset, he could tell. He couldn't let her leave like that.

"Helga!" he called as she went through the door. "Helga, wait!" He shot out the door and caught her before she got to the bottom of the stoop. "Helga, hang on a minute!"

He grabbed her arm and turned her to face him. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and she looked at him with a great sadness in her eyes.

"Helga?" he asked. He had never seen her cry before. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?" She pulled her arm from his grip and began scrubbing at the tears on her cheeks.

"Nothing, Arnold," she said, her voice choked with tears. "I've just got something in my eye, that's all." She looked at him, and noticed the concerned expression in his eyes. Her heart twisted. "Really, Arnold. I'm okay."

Arnold's parents and grandparents appeared in the doorway, and looked down at the pair. Fresh tears stun Helga's eyes, and she could feel her heart twist at the sight of the identical looks of concern on the faces of the adults. With a soft cry, she turned to run home. But her feet tangled together, and she fell off the stoop, landing on her hands and knees, hard. Arnold was next to her in an instant.

"Helga?" he asked, bending over to speak to her. "Are you all right?" He had placed a hand on her back unconsciously, and she felt dizzy at its warmth and comfortable pressure. She nodded her head forcefully.

"I'm fine, Arnold," she whispered as she crawled a few feet away. Her hands and knees were really screaming at her when she put pressure on them, so she stopped crawling and stood slowly. She looked down and saw red marks on the sidewalk. Arnold and his family saw them too.

"Helga . . ."

She looked down at herself and found her knees trickling blood from a number of scratches and cuts. On her hands she found deeper wounds; she had landed on them first, and they had taken the full brunt of her weight. They were shaking slightly. The image doubled, then tripled as her tears returned. The blonde image that was Arnold approached her slowly.

"Helga, you're hurt," he said, gently taking hold of her arm. "Come back inside and we'll fix you up."

For a moment Helga's mind agreed with the boy. She so wanted to go in and be with her beloved. But then her brain reminded her of the touching scene she had witnessed mere moments ago. This family loved each other too much to ever allow her in. With a small cry she pulled her arm from Arnold's grip.

"I'm a big girl, Arnoldo," she spat at him. "I can take care of myself. Don't let me ruin this oh so touching family reunion anymore." She turned and began walking toward home, her hands and knees throbbing all the while. Suddenly she felt warm hands on her upper arms, stopping her. She rolled her eyes.

"Listen Football Head," she said as the hands turned her around. "I'm not gonna say this—" She stopped cold when she saw who the hands belonged to.

"Honey, you're bleeding," Arnold's mother said with a determined look. "I'm not about to let you walk who knows how far when you're hurt. You'll come back inside, I'll clean your cuts and bandage them, and then you can go home. But you're not leaving like this."

"You're darn right she's not going home like that," Grandma added as she joined the two. "We'll fix her right up and she'll be ready to take the herd to market in no time! Let's get a gander at those hands, little lady!"

Stunned, Helga held her hands out to the older women. Arnold's mother gently examined the left as Grandma checked out the right. The young blonde looked over the women's shoulders, at the men of the family. They were all looking on with loving smiles.

"Well, these don't look too bad," the younger woman diagnosed after a minute. "But I'd rather be safe than sorry. Come on . . ." she looked at the girl questioningly.

"Helga," she offered through numb lips. "My name is Helga." The woman smiled.

"Okay Helga," she said as she gently led the girl back toward the boarding house. "Come on. We'll take care of those in no time."

Helga walked between the two women on legs that felt more like jelly. The men parted to let them through, still smiling their knowing smiles.

"That's my wife," the younger man said softly. "Always wanting to mother everybody." Arnold smiled as he hugged his father around the middle.

"I've missed you two so much," he said quietly. The man hugged him back, a large smile on his face.

"We've missed you, son," he replied. "More than you can ever know."

"Now, just hold still, Helga," the woman said as she knelt before the girl in the bathroom. "This may sting a little." She dabbed Helga's cuts with antiseptic, and Helga inhaled sharply. Arnold's mother leaned forward and gently blew across Helga's hand, to lessen the pain.

"Hang on little missy," Grandma said as she readied the bandages. "It'll be over in two shakes of a dog's tail."

Helga smiled weakly. The younger woman started on the other hand as Grandma went to work bandaging the treated one. Soon Helga's wounds were all taken care of.

"So, why did you run off like that?" Arnold's mother asked quietly as she adjusted the last of the bandages. Helga looked at her worriedly.

"What do you care?" she asked, trying to sound stronger than she felt. The woman smiled at her.

"I saw the look on your face before you ran out," she said as she stood. "And back on the stoop. That's not the look of someone who's 'okay'." Helga blushed slightly and looked away.

"Yeah, well, maybe I'm not," she said softly. "So what? It's not like anyone really cares anyway."

The woman looked at Helga thoughtfully for a moment, then went to the door to check on the whereabouts of the men. They were in the kitchen with Grandma, who had cleverly suggested a welcome home barbeque. She smiled as they each took a plate of food to the back yard.

"I wouldn't necessarily say that," she said as she walked to the living room. Curious, Helga followed.

"What are you talking about?" the girl asked. The woman sat on the couch and patted the spot next to her. Helga stood where she was for a moment, then moved took the offered seat.

"Arnold cares about you," the woman told her. Helga's eyes grew wide. The woman nodded. "Of course he does. Otherwise he wouldn't have run after you. Heck, I care about you too. Of course, I'm a mother and mothers are trained to care." Helga scoffed.

"Not all mothers," she whispered. The woman looked down at her questioningly.

"What do you mean, Helga?"

"I wish my parents loved me HALF as much as you two love Arnold," the girl confessed quietly. "My parents don't pay any attention to me. I'm nothing like my older sister, my PERFECT older sister, so they ignore me. They think I'm nothing. Less than nothing. Worthless." The kind woman put her arm about Helga's shoulders and drew the girl closer.

"I'm sure that's not true, Helga," she said, making Helga roll her eyes. This is what EVERYONE says when they hear about Helga's home life.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," she said with a sigh. "'They just don't know how to show me how much they love me.' I've heard it all before. Criminey." The woman shrugged.

"It's a possibility," she admitted. "But on the other hand, they could just be stupid people who don't know a good thing when they see it." Helga's eyes widened. The woman smiled mischievously. "What? You were expecting me to just sit back and side with them?" Helga nodded slowly.

"No one believes me when I say they ignore me," the girl said quietly. "They think I'm just making it up to get attention. Or as an excuse for the way I act."

"Some people are just not really meant to be parents," the older woman said softly. "Apparently your parents only know how to deal with one child at a time. They sound like they're still focused on your older sister." Helga nodded, tears brimming.

"Yeah," she whispered. "It's the way it's always been at my house. No one cares."

"Arnold does," the woman said gently. Helga shook her head.

"Arnold cares about everyone. It's his nature. That's why I lo—" The girl slapped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide. The woman smiled gently.

"That's why you love him?" she finished softly. Helga dropped her head, tears falling. "Honey, that's nothing to be ashamed of. I know you're probably scared to tell him. Judging by that stunned look you had on your face when Grandma and I actually showed you some affection, you're not used to having anyone pay any attention to you at all, right?" The girl nodded slightly.

"No one cares," she repeated in a whisper.

"People care, Helga," the woman replied, hugging the girl close. "You're just not used to having people care, therefore you have no idea how to react to it. You've got to try and let people in, honey."

"I'm scared to," Helga whispered. "I'm scared of being hurt." The woman nodded agreeably.

"I'll admit that there is the danger of being hurt," she agreed. "But you've got a choice here, Helga. You can either pull yourself away from everyone who could care about you and keep yourself safe from the threat of being hurt, or you can open up a little bit and let the people who already care about you show it." The girl looked up with pleading eyes.

"But I don't know how to open up to anyone," she whispered. Arnold's mother smiled.

"Yes you do," she whispered back. "What do you think you're doing right now?" Helga looked up at the mother of her true love and smiled weakly.

"You care about me?" she asked quietly. "And Arnold does too?" The woman smiled and nodded.

"Yep," she answered. "Now what do you say we go out back and get ourselves something to eat, huh? I can already smell the ribs and my belly's starting to grumble." This was answered with a growl from Helga's tummy. The girl smiled and blushed.

"I guess I'm hungry too," she commented with a giggle. "Can I stay for supper?"

"Of course! I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I sent you home hungry. Come on little one. Time to fill our tummies."

The two traveled out back, and were greeted with welcoming smiles from the rest of the family.

"Are you feeling better, Helga?" Arnold asked as he approached the two. Helga smiled shyly and nodded.

"Yeah, much better," she answered. "Your Mom's really nice." Arnold smiled widely and went to hug his newly found mother once more.

"Yeah, she is," he agreed. "And I'm glad she and Dad are back." Another family hug took place, then Arnold walked over to Helga. "Are you staying for supper?" Helga nodded.

"Good," the boy's father said with a smile. "There's plenty for everyone."

Helga smiled widely as she sat next to Arnold. They ate, talked and had a wonderful evening.

That's it.


End file.
